Khadija Patel, a volunteer at the Bolton Council of Mosques, was delighted to have been presented a very special award at Bolton’s Vision Conference at the prestigious Reebok Stadium. She is the first and only young person in Bolton to have completed and been successful in gaining the Platinum Youth Achievement Award.

The Award is equivalent to the Duke of Edinburgh’s Gold Award and involves a series of challenges which the young person has to develop, organize and lead.

Supported by the Bolton Council of Mosques Children and Young Peoples Manager Inayat Omarji and Ciara Steele from Bolton Council Children and Young Peoples Services, Khadija was able to gain certificates in football coaching, as well as mentoring, first aid and other key skills.

At a time when both young people and many community organizations get more bad press than good, Khadija's achievements are definitely something to be proud of. The Bolton Council of Mosques has been extremely successful in engaging young people in various activities and challenges and has helped no less than 220 young people get accredited certificates of achievement in the last couple of years.